Monsters and Men
classified 15Please note: This was screened in Jan 2019
A single incident of violence has consequences for an entire community in Reinaldo Marcus Green's highly topical, intelligent and affecting drama that addresses some of the urgent concerns of African Americans.
When an unarmed black man is shot and killed by police in Brooklyn, the local community is left reeling. Manny (Anthony Ramos, Hamilton), a devoted young father and husband, witnesses the incident and records it on his phone, then agonises about what to do with the footage. Dennis (John David Washington, Blackkklansman) is a righteous cop in line for promotion, though the killing causes him to question his choice of career. For teenage baseball sensation Zyrick (Kelvin Harrison Jr, Mudbound) the shooting stirs political activism and involvement in a campaign to bring justice but, like Manny and Dennis, he has a lot to lose by getting involved.
Outrage over the dangers faced by African Americans at the hands of authorities has permeated the culture in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, and that outrage is felt in every frame of this bracing debut feature. Illuminating a broad system of fear and police misconduct, Monsters and Men speaks to one of the most urgent issues of our time - one that affects us all - whether we chose to see it or not.